Washington/Abuja, Dec 26: The United States carried out a precision airstrike against Islamic State (ISIS) militants in northwest Nigeria at the request of the Nigerian government, U.S. President Donald Trump and the U.S. military said on Thursday.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said the strike was ordered in response to attacks by ISIS militants who were “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians” in the region. He said the operation was conducted under his direction as Commander-in-Chief.
Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on Friday that U.S. precision airstrikes struck “terrorist targets” in the country’s northwest. The ministry said Nigeria remains engaged with Washington in “structured security cooperation” to address ongoing security threats.
The U.S. military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM) said on social media platform X that the strike was carried out at the request of Nigerian authorities and resulted in the deaths of multiple ISIS militants.
The operation comes amid continued efforts by Nigeria and its international partners to combat extremist violence and insurgency in parts of the country.
